Optimizing DRAM Development Using Directed Self-Assembly (DSA)

Directed Self-Assembly (DSA) is an emerging technology that has the ability to substantially improve lithographic manufacturing of semiconductor devices. In DSA, copolymer materials self-assemble to form nanoscale resolution patterns on the semiconductor substrate. DSA technologies hold the promise to substantially improve the resolution of existing lithographic processes (such as self-aligned quadruple patterning, or SAQP), leading to higher density semiconductor devices.

Virtual fabrication is a computerized technique to perform predictive, three-dimensional modeling of semiconductor fabrication processes. Virtual fabrication allows engineers to test semiconductor process changes and process variability in minutes or hours, instead of the weeks or months required to test their designs using actual semiconductor wafers. SEMulator3D is a virtual fabrication solution that can model process variability under complex patterning schemes and process flows.

SEMulator3D can be used to model the impact of integrating directed self-assembly (DSA) techniques into a full semiconductor process flow. In this study, SEMulator3D was used to analyze the incorporation of advanced DSA patterning processes into the fabrication of a 14nm DRAM array.